This admissions season, some of you may be considering transferring to a college or program that better aligns with your needs. To that end, we wanted to provide some tips for writing transfer essays--please take note!

1. Specifically Support your Case

Did you develop interests at your first college that can be explored more fully at the new school? Does the new college have a curriculum or institutional approach to teaching that you find particularly appealing? If you can replace the name of one college with another, your essay must be refined and made more specific--the best transfer essays only work for one college.

2. Take Responsibility for Your Grades

Many transfer students have lapses in academic performance. Some students will have unique situations that are appropriate justification for a transcript blemish. However, for the rest of you--take responsibility for your grades and, if necessary, contextualize the lapse, and explain how you plan to improve your performance at your new school. The admissions committee will be much more impressed by the mature applicant who owns up to failure than the one who fails to take responsibility for his or her performance.

3. Don't Slander Your Current College

Diplomacy is key. Rather than complain about how poor your professors or college environment has been, focus on how your current college does not align with your needs. The admissions officers are looking for enthusiastic, optimistic applicants who will make a positive contribution to their campus community.

4. Polish Style and Tone

The best transfer essays should convey a certain level of sophistication. Many transfer applicants apply to schools they may not have been accepted to before--so your goal is to use the transfer essay to show growth, and total readiness to 'hit the ground running' at your new college.

5. Avoid Supporting Your Case with the Wrong Reasons

You must present reasons for transferring that are grounded in the meaningful academic and non-academic opportunities. Dull professors, unintelligent students and scarce resources do not cut it. In some very select cases, transfer reasons can be of the personal variety, but they should also be anchored with other concrete support.

As always, feel free to message us here with specific questions, or email us for a critique of your transfer essay!

Thank you for this post. I am considering transferring from a school in Florida back to a school in Indiana, which is closer to home. I have been starting to write the application essays, and I'm glad I found this post. I was simply creating a mass essay and was going to send it to all the schools. I have no lapses in academic performance, but I think it would be important for the school to know the reasons behind my wanting to transfer. Thanks!